Ageless Affairs

Aftermath

[As a Valentine's Day gift, I present to you: the aftermath of Unfaithful – Book I :) Much love to you all]

Five Years Later

Lily's POV

Five years. Five years had passed.

Valentine's Day had come, and like every other day of love for the past five years – I spent it alone.

My stack of papers sat unattended at my desk. A big project was coming up, one that Mr. Goldstein was counting on me for. But on this so-called evening of love, I couldn't even drive myself to complete what I love most – my work.

It was like a pathetic scene from a fairy tale. I curled up on my couch, surrounded by unopened books and un-played movies and uneaten popcorn. Five years; that should've been enough time to forget the laughter, the tears, the love, and the hate I had for my husband.

But time ticked in half-time, and I still felt a storm swirling in my veins as I spent another day without him.

We tried to make it work, we did. After that fateful time in the park, when I'd told him that I didn't know, and he'd stayed away from me. Weeks passed, months passed, a year had passed, and I'd gone back to him. My world fell apart when we were apart. My world imploded when we were together. It was confusing. It was as though I couldn't get enough of him, but I couldn't get further away from him. It evolved to forcing ourselves to keep going, to keep loving.

That wasn't how a relationship was supposed to end up, either.

He'd been with girls throughout the years and I'd been with guys. Yet our paths kept merging, and that spark of hope kept appearing. We played twisted, sadistic games with our hearts, no different than our first run all those years ago. He was toxic, and yet an antidote at the same time. My mind couldn't keep up.

I didn't know what he was up to this Valentine's Day. He could have been with another woman, or he could be drowning himself, like me, in the memory of us, and our twisted games.

It didn't matter. We weren't together anymore, and we never would be again.

But that didn't mean that I didn't miss him. That didn't mean that I didn't see him in the other's smiles, or feel him in their kisses. He was my first love, and in a way that tainted me, and it made a part of me seem to exist just for him and his former love.

A bittersweet smile formed on my lips. Men. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

That was certainly how I felt with Nate, even though I forced myself to stay away from him. For good, this time. No more messing around. No more playing with my heart.

Yes, he continued to play with me, even when Georgina had moved away, completely out of the picture. And I let him. I let him kiss me, touch me and then claim that he would never be who I truly wanted, as though convincing me to float far away, to leave him when I needed him.

In the end, I listened to him.

I shook my head. I didn't want to think about that. Instead, I set my mug of tea down, and opened the large, weathered book on my lap. Our photo album.

I scanned through the pictures, a smile on my face and tears in my eyes. We looked so happy. We were so happy. And even though things had fallen apart, that didn't diminish anything. That didn't mean it was the end of the world.

I didn't know why I did this to myself every Valentine's Day. It had started a few years ago, but now it seemed like a tradition that I couldn't imagine not doing.

Sometime during it all – I lost myself to my emotions.

Who knew? Maybe minutes, maybe hours passed as I sat there, wondering about this new journey I'd set myself on. Sometimes the world just felt like it was spinning too fast, and I couldn't keep up, no matter how strong I got.

Maybe Valentine's Day – to me – was in fact, not a day of love, but instead a day of remembrance, and vulnerability, allowing myself to succumb to what I ignored for every other day of the year.

I didn't know how long I sat there, before I heard a timid knock on my door.

I hastily wiped the tears away from my face, and gathered myself up from the sofa in my new apartment. I walked over to the front door, making myself look a little bit presentable before I threw the door open, without looking to see who it was.

My heart jumped, and then it fell.

There he stood, shy and bashful as always. He, like me, was dressed as though there wasn't a care in the world. He held a small bouquet of flowers in his hand, and he held them low, as though to not give me any ideas. His eyes widened when he saw me – those blue-grey eyes of his – and he let out a small, breathless gasp.

"Hi, Lily."

I leaned against the doorframe, swallowing my nerves and slight dread, "Nate...why are you here?"

"I just...knew."

That was all that needed to be said.

I threw away my mixed emotions, and let him pull me in for a hug. I let him comfort me, whispering in my ear that everything would be okay and that he would support me through it all.

I let him, because it wasn't wrong.

It wasn't wrong to have him care for me, whether we were together or not.

It was like reaching an epiphany.

Because – whether we liked it or not – our paths seemed to be entwined for life, and there was no arguing with fate.

And, whether I liked it or not, I would always care for him as well.

***

Hey guys :)

Hope you enjoyed that little Valentine's Day special which includes the final conclusion for Lily and Nate. I have been reading your comments and listening to them, and while I felt you deserved a final ending – I didn't think it fit quite well with the entire book. Say what you will, but I at least wanted to give you all something solid for being so amazing and supportive, and for Valentine's Day <333

You guys are honestly the most amazing people, and I'm so happy that I shared this incredible journey with all of you. But now – this is the final end for Lily and Nate – and I hope that it is a more satisfying ending for the day of love :)

As always, I love you guys! GROUP HUG EVERYONE! Xoxo

And of course - Happy Valentine's Day!

-twyla